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GREETINGS BY NEW FOLKS (Febraury)

Introduction

Hello everyone. My name is Rob, I'm 25 years old and I live just a few miles outside of Detroit in Redford, MI. I found out about this website when I heard Jundo interviewed on a podcast called Buddhist Geeks. I've been practicing meditation on and off for a number of years. I first got interested in meditation after reading the Tao of Pooh which introduced me to Taoism. I read a lot of other books about Taoism and I started meditating but I didn't really get into Buddhism until about a year ago. I really had a lot of misconceptions about Buddhism that kept me away. One day I picked up a book that covered all the major eastern religions and it really changed my understanding of Buddhism. Since then I've been reading a lot about Buddhism, listening to Dharma talks and practicing meditation daily. I started going to a Buddhist temple, which is about 20 miles from my house. The drive isn't too bad but their service schedule doesn't always work with my own. My wife is due to have our first child on March 5th and she needs my help around the house more and more and on top of that I'm starting to take some classes again. The idea of an online Sangha really appealed to me because it will allow me to participate fully even with a busy schedule. I'm excited to get started and I look forward to meeting everyone.

I got interested in Buddhism about 3 years ago while backpacking around New Zealand. I had lots of free time for the first time in many years, so I read parts of the Pali Canon and some commentaries on Nagarjuna. When I got back to North America, I read several books by D. T. Suzuki and Eugen Herrigel's Archery book on the Zen practice, and the Ch'an text "Discourse on Vegetable Roots" as well as some Buddhist history to link it all together.

Last summer, I finally started on the practical side of things, attending a 3 day non-residential non-denominational Vipassana retreat. I've been sitting on my own intermittently since then, in my (messy) apartment. My intention is to sit daily with all of you, rather than a few times a week as I was before.

I've always been drawn strongly towards the Zen tradition. It seems to me to be a much more direct path without a lot of unnecessary decoration, has an element of playfulness and humour, and being rooted in "being in this world" rather than retreating from it resonates strongly with my personal inclinations.

Just Another Noob

Hello Treeleaf Community,

My name is Joseph and I live outside of Chapel Hill, NC. I began sitting zazen in April 1992 in response to a deep feeling of lacking wholeness in a fundamental sense. I began upon reading "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind" by Shunryu Suzuki. Before I could finish the second chapter called 'Breathing' I was compelled to sit by the rightness of this approach to living.

I practiced with several different sanghas as my job moved me around the US until settling down and establishing a formal student/teacher relationship with Danan Henry Roshi at the Zen Center of Denver. I stayed there for the next 8 years and since 2005 I have been sitting shikantaza on my own.

Recently I have begun to sit with the Chapel Hill Zen Group and when my job takes me on the road, as it often does, I sit with Jundo and Treeleaf. I am grateful for this community and the support it brings to my daily sitting.

Hello

Just thought I'd introduce myself. I'm not sure how I found Treeleaf, but I'm glad that I did. I've been sitting on and off (mostly off) for 10 years or so. I've tried various things and have read way to many books on the subject. The last few months, I've stopped reading so much and have decided to focus on just sitting and you guys have helped me a lot so Thank You.

Re: GREETINGS BY NEW FOLKS (Febraury)

Originally Posted by Jundo

Hello, New People to the Treeleaf Sangha,

Please post a little introduction here. Welcome and make yourself at home!

Gassho, Jundo

Hello to all Sangha members! i am grateful to have found Treeleaf Zendo as i was unable to connect with Zen practitioners here in Reno Nevada. i do have some background in Buddhism but have not developed a routine practice. the Soto Zen approach to Buddhist practice appeals to me both in it's simplicity and complexity. with all the information available here at Treeleaf Zendo what suggestions would you give a Zen beginner? Where does one start? Thank you i am looking forward to being with you all here and now.......Kent Cooper

I've been halfway practicing Buddhism for seven or eight years; never really sure when it started. In fact pretty convinced it still hasn't started.

I was introduced into Buddhism through my jujutsu classes, and it grew from there. My initial experiences were with informal Soto groups. Later I got involved with practicing the Shakuhachi, both in terms of suizen and as a musical instrument.

A few years back I moved to central Pennsylvania and have not found any sort of group I would like to sit with so I have been sorta of aimlessly go about my practice. I found Treeleaf on Buddhist Geeks a couple of weeks ago, and since I feel isolated where I am I thought this would be an interesting avenue to develop my practice.

Hi!

Hi Everybody!
I am practicing zazen for the last 18 years of my life! I have a family, a job and struggle to try to embrace the contradictions of my life! I like your community, your commitment to zazen, and your sense of humour!
Gassho
Mokugyo

My name is John and I live in the mountains of Western Colorado. I've been practicing Zen for the last year and a half and watching Jundo's videos since last summer. I've been dabbling in Eastern philosophy, yoga and meditation since I was a kid burning incense and listening to the Beatles back in the 60's. I moved into partying in the 70's; EST in the 80's; Deepok, Dryer, and Robbins in the 90's; and backpacking in the 00's (?). After reading a book on Zen in 2006, something clicked and I've been sitting and collecting a small library of buddhist books since then. Last year I spent a couple of months sitting with Tucson's Zen Desert Sangha and did two retreats at the Upaya Zen center in Santa Fe. The nearest Zen center from where I live is 3 hours away in Denver, so I'm grateful for the chance to learn from Jundo and you'all, and be a part of the sangha here at Treeleaf.

Hi everyone

Just joined, so I wanted to say hi to everybody. My name's David (Doogie to some -- call me what you like), and I'm a 33 year old screenwriter in Los Angeles. I've been sitting with Jundo's sit-alongs every day for the past couple weeks and a few more weeks on my own before that, so I'm pretty new to zazen.

I was fascinated with zen as a kid, but life intervened and I forgot all about it. Well now I'm intervening in life and returning to forgotten things. I'm not looking for supernatural powers, I don't think zazen will help me memorize Pi to 112 digits, and I don't plan to spend a single moment searching for enlightenment. In fact, I hope to attain nothing.

Hi! My name is Jenny and I have been lurking here on the forums for a month or two. I have been practicing sitting on and off since '96-ish when a friend convinced me to go with her to a sitting group at our college campus. I currently began attending a Shin temple nearby, and though that philosophy does not call to me the way zen does, it has a great community of people.
I look forward to participating in this forum and sitting everyday!

Greetings all,
My name is Alex and I live on the Maine Coast. I have been looking for a sangha and am fortunate to have found you all online. I have visited the forum a number of times as a guest and I guess it's time to jump in!

My practice is has always been close to the outdoors and I live in Maine for a reason - it is one of the few places that can satisfy my appetite for mountains and oceans and forests. I am fortunate in that I can share that love with my three sons - all of whom are becoming hikers, skiiers, and kayakers. I have begun sitting regularly in the last two-three months and to paraphrase the dialogue between Eno and Myo, being in your company "is like a man drinking water and knowing whether it is cold or warm."

Greetings

Hello, all. My name is Terry. I've been sitting zazen for a year now, and sitting not-zazen a lot longer than that. Zazen and Soto Zen are what I'm drawn to these days, and that draw has been especially strong as of late.
Here I am.

Hi Rob, Congratulations on your impending fatherhood. Kids are tremendous teachers.
Hello Skye, welcome and I look forward to our daily sits.
Welcome Joseph. ZMBM is one of my most dog eared books. One question, Carolina blue or Blue devil blue?
Ron, glad to hear that, look forward to sitting with you. What are you doing up there in Kentucky?
Kent, to answer your question, there is no substitute for just getting on your cushion. As a beginner, I hope you feel comfortable sharing your 2 cents. Welcome.
Babbles aka Tim, You lucky man, living in Happy Valley, the land of Joe Pa. Welcome aboard Scientist.
Mokugyo, I look forward to hearing more. Welcome.
John, Truly beautiful pictures. Good to have you.
D84, Deep bow to your 3 year old.
Doogie, Good going. If you change you mind, 3.14159265359 dang.
Jenny, enjoy your daily sitting, look forward to hearing more.
Alex, Very kind of you to say. Thank you.
Terry, There you are.

My name is Chris and I'm in Oakland, California. I learned about Treeleaf from Jundo's interview on Buddhist Geeks and thought it was a fantastic idea. Checking it out I was immediately impressed with the depth of discussion here and the collective wisdom you all share.

I first encountered Buddhism in high school when I read "Siddhartha" and some of the Beat stuff like "The Dharma Bums". I'm from the Midwest but I moved to San Francisco in '93. I found myself living three blocks from the Zen Center on Page Street so I went in and learned to sit. Since then my practice has been off and on. As a young person I was never a joiner and seemed determined to do everything on my own. It took me awhile to accept that I need sangha. I've accumulated a small library of Buddhist books, Japanese and Chinese poetry and so on but it hasn't been until the last few months that I've sat every day.

I'm hoping that by coming here I can go further and learn from you all.